Its the "El Clásico" of tamil comedies..You catch my pooint? :D

Just yesterday I watched a Tamil movie probably for the 200th time.no kidding!..I laughed almost as much as I had on every previous occasion..There seemed no logic behind this because I knew every scene, every dialogue as one may come to expect from a person who has quite literally idolized this movie..But there is something about this movie (most Tamil movie fans must have gotten to know which one it is by now from the title!) that makes you roll and rib tickles you all the way...For those who are still wondering, the movie I am talking about is 'Michael Madana Kamarajan' which was released in 1991..

This movie starred the finest actor of our times,the one and only Kamal Hassan in 4 roles and was directed by Singeetham Srinivas Rao of Apoorva Sahodarargal fame..The cast also had the comedian par excellence Nagesh, the brilliant actress Urvasi and a whole lot more including Khushboo and Roopini..

Frankly speaking, the story was a tried and tested formula and had nothing too different about it. In a nut shell, its a story of quadruplets who are separated at birth, raised in different environments and have different life styles and finally by the quirk of fate and sheer coincidence manage to meet up amidst hug chaos and live happily ever after..One might wonder what is so special about this movie that sets it apart and draws such eulogies from me..

The movie stands out for quite a few reasons..The simply stunning screenplay which manages to perfectly introduce the four roles of Kamal Hassan, the fantastic dialogues written by Crazy Mohan and the unbelievable performance of Kamal Hassan and the rest..Kamal's dialogue delivery and modulation is at its best and enthralls viewers..

Now to the best scenes/dialogues from this classic...First an intro to the characters- Kamal Hassan (4 roles- 1.Michael: a criminal (prints counterfeit notes)
2. Madangopal(remarkably erudite- London educated) 3. Kameshwaran (a cook, raised by a Palakkad Iyer -standout performance and 4. Raju- a firefighter), Roopini, Urvasi and Khushboo play the love interests of the latter 3..

Nagesh plays the role of a bootlicker PA to Madan, manorama as the mother of Roopini and the kleptomaniac grandmother of Urvasi referred to as paati..

The film's greatest asset is the remarkable number of comic dialogues and interludes..I shall attempt to present few of the best..But i say in advance. nothing comes close to actually watching this masterpiece..







1. Scene when the firefighter Raju saves artist Khushboo 'and a few of her paintings from a fire..She is profusely thanking him when he musters up courage and says " Naan ungala onnu keta thappa nenachika maateengale?" Khushboo:"...enna?" Raju:"Unga..peru enna?" Khushboo-"Shalini Sivaraman" Raju (in some shock)--"Indha Sivaramangardhu"
Khushboo- (Appa) Raju (with sigh of relief)-"Abba"....


2.Kameshwaran's entry scene---" plate of fish is flung on road and lands just by him.. "Aaarakkum adu...plateoda vegetablesa thooki adikardhu..kathrikkai kashnatha viteriya vera edam kadakaliye noku..naana irundadu nalla seri vera oru rowdya irundha veliya bagala aayirukkum "---> you will roll for this 1..

3. Scene when Urvasi (her name is Tripurasundari) meets Kameshwaran---
T: Naanakkum indha kolam potadu
K: hmm....
T: Rangoli...nanakkum potadu
K: Vashalla..nanna irundudu..adu mela scooter ellam vituten kitiya..sorry (read as soary)!
K: Naani inge cook aakum..Palakkad Mani iyer theriyuma noku? U:a... (read as long and drawn out 'a')
K: inga chella potiya thedindu vayasaanavar oruthar ninnare... U:ohhhhhhhhhhh...
K: avarodiya magan---kameshwaran
U: Thripurasundari K:...Kameshwaran
U: illai..en per thripurasundari...
K: nalla peru...palakkada irikkum...
U: oh! eppadi kandu pudichel?
K: oh..namma bhashai namakku theriyada..enna proper (readd 'pro' as in pro) Palakkad alya..thoteduthu oru kugraamam!
U: Grammamum kuka neengalum cook...
guffaws...!



Probably the best scene is the interlude between Kameshwraan and his father portrayed brilliantly by Delhi Ganesh..thought tempting to describe the conversation I shall leave it to you people to enjoy watching it..
numerous ones more such as "anga oru dadi aal inga oru podi aal pala size la adi all vechuran "... "....carefree ara dozen".idenna ellam plus 2 a irukke!...

He has misappopriated 25 lakhs of my money..sabaash nallavarungara!

bheemboy bheemboy..andha locker lendu aaru lakshatha eduthu indha avinashi naayi moonji la...apram pto varum aakum..ellathukkum oru aakum aakum nu..! catch my pooint!...ennadu pooointa??

there's just no end to the best dialogues but I must stop and let you guys go ahead and watch this cult classic..a true trend setter when it comes to almost every aspect of a classic comedy movie..

So..have fun and savor every aspect of this wonderful movie and relish the top class performance of all the actors especially the genius of Kamal Hassan who makes playing a variety of roles seem a stroll in the park..

IF you haven't seen this movie...you haven't seen intellectual comedy at all!!


For thos who cant catch the movie, catch the best scenes here

how much errors?...pardon me..what was that??

Over the last few days people have been directing a barrage of elementary grammatical errors at me whenever they tend to speak English..Its not exactly the nicest position to be in because more often than not they do so without even the slightest idea that they have blundered..I have to put up a straight face and trudge off once again wondering why this is happening..I am not quite the expert myself and am definitely the kind who has and will commit errors myself..but at least I am most definitely the kind who works towards improving my English and vocabulary in general..

The biggest problem is not quite the erratic usage but the fact that people don't really think much about trying to get better..I'm all for avoiding English when it comes to home and also personal conversations..but at the workplace, I believe it must be more professional and also its all the more ethical to converse in English as you then make sure no one is alienated from the conversation like he/she would have been if it were in a regional language.. 'Spended', 'very hurry', 'how much people' and a whole lot more..I am flabbergasted at the extraordinary ability of these people to say so and not even feel that there is an error there..and how many of them are going to be gracious enough to accept a correction i the right spirit.not many I should think..!

If the schooling was done in a place where there was no emphasis on English, I can very well understand that they need some time to come to grips with the nuances of the language but what about the vast majority who studied throughout in the cities and work there too? I don't think they have too many excuses except for the simple fact that they refuse to speak English as they feel it it not necessary..When they can learn a programming language, some goddamn technologies which in normal course are totally alien to what they have studied or worked with all life..why is learning a language, the usage of which is almost ubiquitous considered a burden?.. We are not talking about the use of bombastic words and flowery language, but just getting the basics right in normal day to day communication..

Well, this piece certainly hasn't been an exercise in showcasing my vocabulary or as the people normally say 'English show off' nor has it been written to incense the so called offenders (yours truly has been at that end many times himself)..I hope that people do realize the importance of the language in professional circles and strive to get the basics right in due course of time which would make it easy for most people to have a smooth conversation and not have to look/feel embarrassed and feel inclined to switch to a regional language!!

Time for some serious soul-searching

Its been quite a while since I sat to write something..I've been kept away due to quite a few reasons..a little extra work, office culturals etc etc..but more than anything, I'm just a little skeptical and very worried about how monotonous life has become and seriously don't wanna even imagine becoming yet another also-ran..Agreed, I'm the culprit for having chosen Engineering and this path purely because I didn't think about other options..Inevitably I was led into the IT industry and ever since, its all been all too boring..Never did I ever want to be involved in this field..I have always been the one who loves sports, history and just about anything to do with medicine..In hindsight I always feel I should have done something and moved on in the field of sports writing/journalism..Though definitely less lucrative than the so called high paying IT field, I would have undoubtedly had the joy of working with what I love the most..

But once again, that is hindsight and now I am pretty much trying to salvage whats remaining. I have not been able to devote any time for myself despite staying alone..Getting back home, gym, dinner and then watching TV for sometime, couple of phone calls and crash..This pretty much describes the weekdays.Weekends fly past in a jiffy and I am truly feeling that I have to do something sooner rather than later to arrest the flight of time..Lack of good company is a serious issue..whining about it aint gonna do anything except add to my depression..It is most definitely time to address the monotony that has crept into my life before it magnifies itself..Tennis, cricket, reading what not..! it seems like there are plenty of options and things to do but the mind just aint ready to accept it..

How long can I continue to go to a Cafe alone with a book every weekend..and get back and rue the fact that I have no company..it all comes down to being proactive..I suppose I have to make the right efforts and go the right places to find the crowd..Frankly I have become a little aimless..I do know what I wanna do but don't know how and when to get there..recently a friend of mine asked me what he should do in order to get rid of the monotony..I came up with about a hour's advice and gave him quite a bit to think about...Wish I had the ability to inspire myself or at least someone around to raise my spirits!!

I have come to a conclusion though and a I believe a very positive one..there is simply no use harping about whats not been and what could have been...id rather get to work and look to get on track and keep myself occupied doing stuff I always wanted and that is quite a bit..Without doubt the coming 2-3 years are gonna be the time when I can really lay a great platform for the future with the aid of a positive and proactive approach or end up stagnant with the silly old approach of whining..I firmly believe its gonna be the former and with that will end the agony of writing such blogs and spare everyone of the even greater trouble while reading these!!!